Music

"I have worked in venues, live music and production for over 22 years and Adlib are at the very top of my supplier list, they have a great work ethic and a transparent way of doing business which is refreshing. I will be working with them again."

- Richard Maides, Operations Director, (VMS Live) / Manchester Academy

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The Requirement

Manchester Academy is a multi-room concert venue attached to the University of Manchester Student’s Union. Manchester Academy attracts a high calibre of artistes and the venue required a rider-friendly solution that was attractive to production crews and their requirements.

When Technical Manager Stuart Wright took over responsibility for the venue, they turned to Adlib to provide a sound and lighting installation for the two largest rooms that would work with the requirements of a large, multi-room venue.

The Solution

A detailed site survey was undertaken and the venue was acoustically modelled using L-Acoustics’ Soundvision software.

Adlib’s in-house lighting designer came up with a rider-friendly lighting specification to negate the need to sub-hire lighting equipment in the future.

In Academy 1, Adlib installed an L-Acoustics FOH system comprising 4 x V-DOSC, 2 x dV-Sub, 6 x ARCS and 8 x SB28. The monitor system comprised 10 x Adlib MP4 bi-amp wedge monitors complete with side fills and drum sub.

For lighting in Academy 1, Adlib specified a Pearl Expert console alongside 16 x Martin MAC 350 Entour and 10 x Martin MAC 301 Wash moving lights. In addition 6 x ETC Source 4 Zoom profiles and 4 x Pro-Can 4-lite molephays were introduced. 4 x Martin Atomic Strobes, combined with a Martin Magnum 2500 Hazer provide atmosphere.

Adlib were also chosen by the University to supply and install a package for the mid-size Academy 2. Again, a detailed system design was undertaken with an industry respected specification in mind.

With a view to simplifying operations for busy venue staff, the overall package was almost identical in specification to that supplied in Academy 1 with the exception of the front of house loudspeaker System and the on stage monitor desk.

The Main PA was a Nexo Alpha loudspeaker system (8 x M3’s mid high cabinets/2 x B1’s bass enclosures plus 6 x S2 Subs), complete with CAMCO amplifiers and NX242 signal processors.

The on-stage monitor desk in the smaller venue was a Soundcraft Vi1 console. As with the larger venue, both mixing consoles were packaged and configured to allow use at front of house or on-stage.

Adlib system engineers conducted a week of training with the in-house technical manager so their engineers who operate the system could acquaint themselves with the new equipment.

The Result

Since completion of the installation, the system has been used by touring artists and continues to deliver world class sound results for audiences. The system is very rarely supplemented for during productions, following 6 months of events using the L-ACOUSTICS loudspeaker system, the in-house team have only once had to make way for an alternative touring loudspeaker package.

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